


Kindergarten Romance

by JehBeeEh



Series: STB Bingo [7]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Artist Steve Rogers, Family Fluff, Getting Together, Kid Fic, M/M, Meet-Cute, Online School, Original Character(s), Parent Steve Rogers, Parent Tony Stark, Pre-Slash, Texting, and they were zoommates, video calls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-17 22:00:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28732341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JehBeeEh/pseuds/JehBeeEh
Summary: Parenting is hard.Being forced into e-learning with kindergarten aged kids is its own form of hell.Steve and Tony meet during one such event.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: STB Bingo [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2035576
Comments: 55
Kudos: 242
Collections: STB Bingo: Round One





	Kindergarten Romance

**Author's Note:**

> Partially based on real events... that may be driving this author to insanity.
> 
> As always, ginormous thanks to corsets_and_cardigans for cheering this on late last night (and for one of the tags above. I couldn't resist using it!).
> 
> STB Fill for Square B2: Artist Steve Rogers

Hell.

This had to be what hell was like.

Tony Stark loved his son with every fiber of his being. He would die for that kid.

But in that moment, he greatly questioned why he and his ex-wife had thought having a kid would be a good idea. Because no amount of parenting books or groups or ‘instincts’ had prepared him for the pure hell that was online homeschooling.

_Stupid Karina, and her stupid ideas_ , he thought as he ran around the house for the millionth time trying to find the pencil sharpener. How it kept disappearing was a true mystery. He cursed the school’s outdated heating system that had broken the week before. He cursed the manufacturer who couldn’t get them the part they needed to fix it until later this week. He cursed the PTA president who insisted “young minds couldn’t go untaught for another week!”.

He cursed her most of all.

“I am putting a god damned tracker on this stupid pencil sharpener,” Tony mumbled as he walked back into the dining room to Peter stifling a laugh. “What?”

“Mr. Stark?” Peter’s teacher said pointedly, and he cursed (internally) at himself for forgetting to mind his words. Kindergarten was a hard thing to master.

“I’m sorry Ms. Hill,” Tony replied sheepishly as he popped his head behind Peter and waved.

“As punishment,” she smirked at him, “Peter volunteered you to help one of the other parents who’s having some tech issues this morning. Can I send you their number?”

“Oh, for sure, I can help.”

His phone blinged almost immediately with the information and he set out to troubleshoot with a guy named Steve who just couldn’t get any of the apps the teacher was using to work on his laptop, or tablet, or phone. Within 20 minutes, Tony had him and his daughter back online.

School Dad Steve  
  
**Steve:** Then I just click OK?  
  
**Tony:** yup, that should do it  
  
**Steve:** OMG, thank you! We’re back online  
  
**Steve:** You’re a lifesaver!  
  
**Tony:** LOL no worries  
  
**Steve:** I will miss how quiet it was though  
  
**Steve:** These kids need to learn where the mute button is  
  
**Tony:** Yeah, I can’t stay in the room for extended periods of time. They get LOUD!  
  
**Steve:** Can you imagine them all in the same room? Plus running around.  
  
**Tony:** Ms. Hill doesn’t get paid nearly enough, imho  
  
**Steve:** Amen to that!  
  


“You doing okay, kiddo?” Tony whispered as he walked back in the dining room where Peter was now drawing something that could have been a dinosaur, a robot, or a recliner, frankly. Peter, much like his Father, didn’t have much talent when it came to drawings.

“I’m okay. I turned off the microphone,” Peter announced proudly. Tony had made sure Peter knew exactly which buttons to click to turn the camera and microphone on and off, and apparently that lesson had paid off. “We have to draw a word that starts with C.”

Tony gave up on deciphering the drawing and went back to checking his emails and moving a few meetings around with his assistant’s help.

“Ms. Hill? I finish my crane!” Peter yelled out in the room, prompting Tony to remind him that even though they were in another house, the computer would do the work of carrying the sound.

“That’s awesome, Peter. Can you try and find something in your house that starts with the letter C and bring it back to show me?” his teacher replied. Instead of answering, Peter bolted out of the room, leaving Tony to go mute the microphone. 

As he slid the cursor on the screen, Tony couldn’t help but notice a very handsome man with sandy blond hair, a thick beard, and the most stunning blue eyes he’d ever seen, in one of the squares on the screen. He was obviously trying to teach his daughter where different things were located on the app they were using, high fiving her and kissing her head when she nodded and told him something. It was insanely adorable, and Tony had to bite back a smile.

Peter ran back in with one of Tony’s comic books just as he was vacating the chair and about to take back his own place at the table.

“Where did you get that?” Tony asked, slightly exasperated.

“This is the one we were reading last night,” Peter replied as he knelt back on his chair, about to start talking when Tony had to remind him to wait his turn. “Look, my friend Andy made a drawing, Daddy!”

Tony poked around the screen and looked at the square Peter was pointing at. “Wow! They are really good,” Tony commented.

“Yeah. That’s her dad’s job. He draws things.”

“That’s really cool, Pete.” Tony got up to refill his coffee mug - because heaven knew there was not enough coffee to survive this day. And it was only 10am! - as Peter got his turn.

“I have a Captain America Comic,” he yelled excitedly.

“Indoor voice, Peter,” Tony yelled back from the kitchen, the irony of having to yell the words not lost on him.

_This is going to be a really long week_ , he thought to himself.

~~~~~ 

School Dad Steve  
  
**Tony:** Ms. Hill doesn’t get paid nearly enough, imho  
  
**Steve:** Amen to that!  
  
**Time:** Today, 8:23am  
  
**Tony:** You doing okay this morning?  
  
**Steve:** Did I sound that lost yesterday for you to feel the need to check in on me? 😛  
  
**Tony:** just doing my part to make sure the youths do not miss out on one second of education  
  
**Steve:** Running for the PTA or is this one of those times the *sarcasm font* won’t be put to good use if it existed?  
  
**Tony:** I’d buy shares in that font if it came to exist!  
  
**Steve:** Ha! This whole thing is a bit much. I’m sure a week off wouldn’t have killed them.  
  
**Steve:** We’re good though, kiddo is online and chatting with her buddies.  
  
**Steve:** Thanks for asking, I do appreciate it  
  
**Tony:** No worries. I know all this stuff is confusing.  
  
**Tony:** Always happy to help  
  


Tony set up for the day at the kitchen counter. Still within earshot of the cacophony that was mornings in Ms. Hill’s kindergarten class, but just far enough that it wasn’t a complete assault on his eardrums. And he was closer to the coffee machine.

Tony had lost himself in some schematics he needed to review when the pitter patter of a tiny Peter running to him interrupted his thoughts.

“Look what I made, daddy!” Peter exclaimed as he leapt into Tony’s lap.

“You showed me your crane yesterday bud, remember?” Tony smiled as he wrapped his arms around Peter so he wouldn’t fall off his lap.

“No! This a dinosaur, not a crane!” Peter huffed, the most adorable frown on his forehead.

Tony gave the drawing a closer look and noticed very, _very_ subtle differences. If he squinted hard enough. _We all have our strengths, ours do not lie in drawing,_ Tony reminded himself.

“Daddy, we need to bring the camera downstairs now,” Peter continued, clearly over his Father’s failure to recognize prehistoric creatures.

“I need more info there, bud,” Tony reminded him. Peter tended to jump into stories half-way through, often forgetting key pieces of information.

“We need to show a thing that starts with D today. I wanna show Dum-E to my friends,” he explained.

Well shit.

“Are you sure you can’t think of anything else? I mean, Dum-E’s _okay_ but-”

“He’s the coolest, _please daddy_ ,” Peter pleaded, pulling the sad puppy eyes that Tony hated for their efficacy.

“Fine,” he relinquished. “Just let me talk to Ms. Hill first, okay?”

Peter jumped off and bounced the whole way back to his laptop, not waiting for Tony before turning the microphone back on and interrupting the little girl Tony remembered from yesterday.

“Peter, that was rude,” she exclaimed tersely. 

“‘M sorry, Andy, I promise it’s SO worth it though!” Peter apologized to the person Tony now recognized was his bestest friend in the whole wide world, as Peter had described them numerous times since the start of the school year. “Daddy, talk to Ms. Hill now!”

“I’m so sorry to interrupt,” Tony started. “I’ll make this quick, but Peter wants to show you something… well, it’s in my workshop, it’ll just take me a minute to get him set up down there so he can show you. Do you mind if we log off for a minute?”

“Sure, Mr. Stark, it’s absolutely fine. And Peter, can you apologize to Ms. Rogers for cutting her off?” the teacher replied.

“Sorry, Andrea,” Peter answered sadly.

“It’s fine, Peter. Can’t wait to see what it is,” Andrea replied sweetly, and Tony heard her dad laugh in the background. Handsome _and_ a great laugh. Tony would need to find a reason to talk to his kid’s best friend’s dad before the week was over. “Anyways, Ms. Hill, as I was saying-” Tony heard before he disconnected from the call.

He followed Peter down the stairs to his workshop, finding a spot to set the laptop on that showed as little of the mess as possible, or the proprietary plans and items strewn about the various work areas. Peter came over to see his dad, Dum-E in tow, just as he was getting the meeting back online. Tony brought a stool so Peter could sit next to the bot and when there was a lull from the gaggle of children on the call, he turned the mic on and informed the teacher they were ready again. Peter’s face brightened as his teacher asked what exactly he was sitting next to.

“This is my friend, Dum-E. Say hi,” he asked the robot, who waved its claw towards the general direction of the laptop.

Tony saw Ms. Hill frown. “I’m sorry, what’s that?”

“Peter what did we say about context?” Tony laughed as he popped his head on screen. “First off, his name isn’t what it sounds like it is. It is bad to call your friends dumb, kiddos.” Tony saw a few parents visibly chuckle on the muted channels, including Handsome Dad. “Dum-E is a robot that I created when I was at school a while ago. He can do lots of cool things actually.”

Tony proceeded to explain how Dum-E helped him with work and could find and bring him things around the workshop. How he knew how a fire extinguisher worked. And Peter even showed them all how he played fetch. 

In the end, Ms. Hill offered for any other parents who wanted to show off some of their work to let her know as the kids had been more attentive during this little presentation than they had the past day and a half so far. 

School Dad Steve  
  
**Steve:** Way to show off!  
  
**Tony:** Sorry, I don’t know why Pete decided we had to show everyone Dum-E  
  
**Tony:** I’m sure your job is cool too  
  
**Steve:** Sure. I doodle for a living  
  
**Steve:** Did I just hear a kid say their dad is an industrialist? What does that even mean  
  
**Tony:** Oh yeah, I know the dad. You do not want to know. It’s pretty boring.  
  
**Steve:** Probably not as boring as drawing  
  
**Tony:** I guess we’ll just have to see  
  


~~~~~ 

Tony the IT God!  
  
**Tony:** How am I more exhausted at the end of this day than I am after a whole day at the office?  
  
**Steve:** I was just thinking the same thing.  
  
**Steve:** some friends are watching the kiddo so I could go to the gym.  
  
**Steve:** I miss my routine.  
  
**Tony:** Significant other needed some quiet time too?  
  
**Tony:** part of me is a bit resentful this fell on my week and my ex got a free pass  
  
**Steve:** I’m actually solo  
  
**Steve:** My partner passed away a few years ago  
  
**Tony:** Shit…  
  
**Steve:** It’s fine really, don’t feel bad  
  
**Tony:** Still. I’m sorry. 😥  
  
**Tony:** my complaining feels douchey now  
  
**Steve:** Solo parenting is always hard, regardless how we got there.  
  
**Steve:** Hope you can get a bit of a break?  
  
**Tony:** He goes to his mom’s on Friday night  
  
**Tony:** Seriously, Steve, I’m sorry  
  
**Steve:** No harm done, I promise! You didn’t know  
  
**Tony:** Well, I’ll let you enjoy your quiet time and I’ll go mindlessly binge Netflix  
  
**Steve:** My friend was just raving about Bridgerton, if you’re looking for something to watch?  
  
**Tony:** Might check it out. Have fun gymming!  
  


~~~~~ 

Tony the IT God!  
  
**Yesterday,** 11:54 PM  
**Tony:** Did you actually know what you were recommending to me?!  
  
**Tony:** I’m not mad, don’t get me wrong but that was not what I was expecting!  
  
**Time:** Today, 1:33am  
  
**Tony:** I’m going to be exhausted for school, and it’s all your fault!  
  


Steve laughed at his phone as he read Tony’s message from last night. He’d been fast asleep by 10:30 and had missed them all. He sent a quick reply of _#sorrynotsorry?_ Before going back to prepping for his and Andy’s almost last day of school from home.

To say this had been a learning experience would be the world’s biggest understatement. It also reaffirmed he’d made the right decision by _not_ going into teaching. He loved children - his daughter especially - but the more he saw just how many different ways Ms. Hill had had to try and explain the same concepts to any one of the kids in class before one stuck… It wasn’t what he’d expected teaching would be like. Things had changed so much since he’d been in school. He was thankful his daughter’s first taste of school was with someone as clearly passionate about teaching as his teacher was.

“Daddy, you’re doing your presentation today, right?” Andy asked as she settled herself in his office.

“I am, yeah. I think I’m on just after recess,” Steve replied as he started doing a quick braid in her messy blond hair, even though he knew it’d be in shambles within the hour. 

“Cool, I think your job is awesome,” she replied in her adorable matter-of-fact way that Steve loved. 

He thanked her as he started up her laptop, getting her settled and ready for her morning class. He went to grab more coffee and came back in time to hear that today’s letter was T. He pulled out his phone as he settled at his own desk.

Tony the IT God!  
  
**Steve:** #sorrynotsorry?  
  
**Time:** Today, 9:05am  
  
**Steve:** T for Tequila?  
  


A few minutes later, Tony replied with a string of laughing emojis and a note saying he could use some shots right about now. Before Steve could reply, he was pulled away from the conversation by an urgent email from his boss who’d apparently misplaced some of his latest artwork. Before he knew it, Andy had bounced up next to him and was letting him know it was recess, and she needed a snack.

Steve got up to fetch her a snack, realizing it was the first day he hadn’t had to make the short trek back and forth to the kitchen what felt like a million times. The number of snacks he had had to fetch this week alone had astounded him. As he riffled through the cupboards, trying to see what was left that she could snack on, his mind drifted back to the brunette that had been occupying his mind all week.

He hadn’t realized at first that the Tony he’d been talking to when he couldn’t figure out the simple video meeting app on Monday was _the_ Tony Stark. Not until Andy pointed it out when Tony popped up while his son was talking about something. He had genuinely enjoyed having another adult to chat with that actually understood what he was going through, even if Tony clearly had an easier time with the tech they used. 

It hadn’t hurt at all that Tony was absolutely gorgeous too.

He went back to his office, trying to shoo away thoughts of Tony from his mind as he set up the camera so he could show off his drawing skills just a bit. And a small part of him wished he’d had time to message Tony to ask if he’d be watching along with Peter, but he soon got his answer as everyone returned from recess and Tony and Peter were in a square, snuggled together on what Steve assumed was the couch in their house. Tony looked tired, but Peter looked _done_. Steve remembered that look all too well from his own daughter throwing a tantrum in the afternoon because she had to draw a very specifically coloured tree, when she wanted to make hers purple. Full days sitting in front of screens was a lot for the littles.

“What should I draw for the class, kiddo?” he asked his daughter as Ms. Hill gave them a few instructions.

“Hm. You can’t draw what I _really_ want you to draw, ‘cause that’d give your secret identity away, huh?” Andy asked, a bit sadly.

“Something like that, yeah,” Steve answered. “What if I draw a different character though? One most people wouldn’t recognize?”

“Yeah, that works!” Andy replied just as her teacher called on her to introduce her dad. Steve noticed Peter perk up a little when Andy started talking, and he couldn’t help but smile. He started sketching out the character he planned to draw, knowing his presentation wouldn’t be as long as some of the other parents’.

Andy moved the camera so around so all that appeared in their square were Steve’s hands as he drew. He spoke a bit about what he did - drawing and writing in broad terms - and his favourite things to draw. Different techniques, and how he didn’t really decide that’s what he wanted to do until he was older. He answered questions from the class, many of Andy’s classmates needing to know what he thought the BEST colour was, and his stance on why holding crayons a certain way was better - clearly a dig at their teacher pestering them for proper pencil handling.

Every now and then, Steve snuck a glance at the square where Tony and Peter were still huddled together. Tony seemed more interested in the presentation than Peter was now, which Steve had hoped for. And then, it happened. He saw the exact moment when recognition crossed his face. His eyes grew wider and his mouth opened. He reached for his phone and started typing. Seconds later, Steve’s phone vibrated behind him.

He saw Tony sit up straighter and he was talking with Peter, who still didn’t seem interested much. More typing, and buzzing behind him, until Steve was done with his very rough sketch. Andy lifted the camera again and he waved at the class before the next parent came on and when he was in the clear, he reached for his phone.

Tony the IT God!  
  
**Today** 10:57 AM  
**Tony:** Is that Sgt Bucky??  
  
**Tony:** OMG YOURE STEVEN GRANT?!?!?!?!?  
  
**Tony:** How did I not know this????  
  
**Time:** 11:01 AM  
  
**Tony:** I am such a big fan! You have no idea how hard it is NOT to scream like a 13yo girl at whatever the equivalent of a Backstreet Boys concert is these days  
  
**Tony:** I am losing my shit right now  
  
**Time:** 11:06 AM  
  
**Steve:** Language 😉 Don’t wanna get Ms. Hill mad  
  
**Tony:** Ha! Cute, quoting Cap back at me like that  
  
**Tony:** How did I never notice the name on the class list before?  
  
**Steve:** I use my middle name for the comics  
  
**Steve:** Figured it’d be better for Andy as she grew up  
  
**Tony:** What?!?!  
  
**Tony:** Andy Rogers is your daughter?!  
  
**Tony:** You’re my kid’s BFF’s DAD?!  
  
**Steve:** I thought you knew?  
  
**Tony:** NO!!!!  
  
**Steve:** I’m sorry, I should have mentioned sooner. At least about the kids being friends.  
  
**Steve:** Andy told me after you helped me on Monday, or I would have said something then.  
  
**Tony:** No, it’s fine. I’m just seriously having such a fanboy moment right now, you don’t even understand!  
  
**Steve:** Well, your tech is pretty great, even if it confuses the hell outta me  
  
**Steve:** As you can see, I’m more of a paper and pencil kinda guy  
  
**Tony:** No shit!  
  
**Steve:** It was kinda neat when Peter showed my comic on Monday, ngl  
  
**Tony:** I forgot about that!  
  
**Steve:** That’s when I found out who you were, and all  
  
**Steve:** Mighta been showing off a bit just now.  
  
**Steve:** Coulda just drawn a dancing monkey or something  
  
**Tony:** Well, your secret’s safe with me, Cap 🤐  
  
**Steve:** Oh god, don’t call me that!! I’m the furthest thing from him  
  
**Tony:** Not the way I’ve heard our kids talk about you the past week  
  
**Tony:** You sound pretty awesome  
  
**Steve:** Well, thanks.  
  
**Steve:** I’m not sure how accurate that is.  
  
**Steve:** The kid calls me a superhero when I find the rainbow Goldfish at the store  
  
**Tony:** That’s a pretty great superpower to have!  
  


~~~~~ 

“Ms. Hill, I’m sorry but that’s wrong,” Steve heard his daughter call out and he braced himself for the fall out.

He hadn’t been paying attention to what the teacher had asked the class to do, and now he wished he had. He rolled his chair closer to his daughter, prepared to intervene as she continued.

“I had two dads before one of them died, and now my family is more than just me and daddy, cause my uncle James and my aunty Natasha help when Daddy has to work,” she continued in that easy way she had of telling the straight facts about their family situation.

“Yeah, and my mom and dad don’t live together anymore,” he heard Peter chime in. “Mommy’s with someone else, and Daddy dates girls _and_ boys-”

“Peter,” he heard Tony hiss in the background before he saw the microphone mute icon appear on his section of the screen.

As a few other kids chimed in with their own non-typical family situations, Steve looked at his daughter, who stared back with a shrug.

“I’m not wrong,” she answered simply.

“Fair. But we’ve talked about this. You didn’t have to call your teacher out that way,” Steve leveled with her.

“Ugh, fine. I’ll apologize.” Before Steve could suggest that she wait until lunchtime to apologize and discuss the matter with her teacher, Andy had unmuted herself and was yelling an apology over the raucous she’d started.

Steve heard his phone vibrate on his desk and he went for it, knowing this was all a lost cause at this point.

Tony the IT God!  
  
**Tony:** You really need to watch this show so we can discuss the intricate plot points  
  
**Time:** Today, 11:44am  
  
**Tony:** So, I know we’ve moved on from the letter T but I could really use some celebratory shots after surviving this week  
  
**Tony:** Think you can get your extended non-traditional family to babysit? 😉  
  
**Tony:** My treat..?  
  
**Steve:** Yeah, I’m pretty sure I can find someone to watch the gremlin  
  
**Steve:** And I’m pretty sure she picked A for today for any and all forms of Alcohol  
  
**Tony:** Sounds legit!  
  
**Steve:** Text me when and where  
  
**Tony:** Perfect, it’s a date!  
  
**Steve:** It’s a date 😊  
  



End file.
